Bruxism - the management of the clenching and grinding of your teeth
- 3 years ago
[Dr David Cunnington]: Lots of people I see with sleep problems also have teeth-grinding or bruxism. Is there any link between those things?
[Dr Harry Ball]: Look, it's an area that's looked at a lot in dentistry because there are people that do think that bruxism or clenching and grinding is linked to sleep apnoea because you do find a lot of people with sleep apnoea clench and grind their teeth, much more so than you expect in the public and the same people who clench and grind, a lot of them have got sleep apnoea as well. So, there is a lot of speculation about there being a link, but at this point in time, even though they coexist, you can't say one really causes the other.
[Dr David Cunnington]: I also see people with insomnia tend to get a lot of clenching and grinding, as well.
[Dr Harry Ball]: Yes.
[Dr David Cunnington]: So, just finding clenching and grinding, to me, doesn't equal sleep apnoea. It might equal a sleep problem but not necessarily sleep apnoea.
[Dr Harry Ball]: Yes, and interestingly, stress has been looked at a lot and anxiety, depression and people who have a history of clenching and grinding are no more anxious or depressed. However, times when they're going through difficulties in their life and they're more stressed, definitely their clenching and grinding is worse and that's often where people start to have problems with bruxism.
[Dr David Cunnington]: What problems can bruxism cause?
[Dr Harry Ball]: There's three main problems that are caused by bruxism. First of all, the clenching and grinding just overuses the muscles of the jaw, so you've got muscles - that's called the masseter muscle, temporalis muscle. They're the main clenching muscles and they're designed to be resting most of the time. So, if you're doing a lot of clenching and grinding during the day or while you're sleeping, you're going to get pain in those muscles, so typically headaches, tension-type headaches, jaw pain and a real tell-tale sign is waking up in the morning with pain. The morning should be a really good time when you're feeling refreshed and if people have got pain you have to wonder about bruxism.
[Dr David Cunnington]: And what about the teeth themselves? Can it cause problems for them?
[Dr Harry Ball]: Yes, that's the second thing is that teeth - some people just clench and there's not too many problems with tooth wear, but a lot of people actually grind their teeth, so their jaw moves side to side, particularly when they're sleeping. And while you're sleeping, there aren't those what's called protective reflexes, so people can do a lot of damage to their teeth. They can really wear through teeth, put cracks in them and break teeth as well, break dental restorations and so that's a big problem is destruction of teeth. And the third problem is jaw joint problems. We have a joint in front of the ear there; it's called the temporomandibular joint.
Sleep Bruxism:
https://www.sleepwise.com.au/teeth-grinding-sleep-bruxism/
[Dr Harry Ball]: Look, it's an area that's looked at a lot in dentistry because there are people that do think that bruxism or clenching and grinding is linked to sleep apnoea because you do find a lot of people with sleep apnoea clench and grind their teeth, much more so than you expect in the public and the same people who clench and grind, a lot of them have got sleep apnoea as well. So, there is a lot of speculation about there being a link, but at this point in time, even though they coexist, you can't say one really causes the other.
[Dr David Cunnington]: I also see people with insomnia tend to get a lot of clenching and grinding, as well.
[Dr Harry Ball]: Yes.
[Dr David Cunnington]: So, just finding clenching and grinding, to me, doesn't equal sleep apnoea. It might equal a sleep problem but not necessarily sleep apnoea.
[Dr Harry Ball]: Yes, and interestingly, stress has been looked at a lot and anxiety, depression and people who have a history of clenching and grinding are no more anxious or depressed. However, times when they're going through difficulties in their life and they're more stressed, definitely their clenching and grinding is worse and that's often where people start to have problems with bruxism.
[Dr David Cunnington]: What problems can bruxism cause?
[Dr Harry Ball]: There's three main problems that are caused by bruxism. First of all, the clenching and grinding just overuses the muscles of the jaw, so you've got muscles - that's called the masseter muscle, temporalis muscle. They're the main clenching muscles and they're designed to be resting most of the time. So, if you're doing a lot of clenching and grinding during the day or while you're sleeping, you're going to get pain in those muscles, so typically headaches, tension-type headaches, jaw pain and a real tell-tale sign is waking up in the morning with pain. The morning should be a really good time when you're feeling refreshed and if people have got pain you have to wonder about bruxism.
[Dr David Cunnington]: And what about the teeth themselves? Can it cause problems for them?
[Dr Harry Ball]: Yes, that's the second thing is that teeth - some people just clench and there's not too many problems with tooth wear, but a lot of people actually grind their teeth, so their jaw moves side to side, particularly when they're sleeping. And while you're sleeping, there aren't those what's called protective reflexes, so people can do a lot of damage to their teeth. They can really wear through teeth, put cracks in them and break teeth as well, break dental restorations and so that's a big problem is destruction of teeth. And the third problem is jaw joint problems. We have a joint in front of the ear there; it's called the temporomandibular joint.
Sleep Bruxism:
https://www.sleepwise.com.au/teeth-grinding-sleep-bruxism/